A Thorn in Your Side
by Zeon Kenway
Summary: Twenty years ago, I watched my best friend die. Now, I watch all my friends die. It just never ends in this world. You find something you care about and it's taken from you. Everything was terrible until I met them. A young girl and her protector. They're the only light in my lonely life now. I'll do anything to keep them alive.


I don't remember exactly what time we fell asleep. I know that I drifted off some time during the movie. I've seen Dawn of the Wolf at least a thousand times. I'm sure Sarah has too. But we still love it for some reason. Sure she's a year younger than me; but hey? Who doesn't want to watch a sappy romance movie with werewolves mixed in? Violence plus love equals a cool movie.

A few hours after falling asleep initially, I woke up to the soft sound of the front door being opened. I groggily looked up at Sarah on the couch. I had set my sleeping bag on the floor next to it. Sleep overs were our favorite thing.

Her dad, Joel, had arrived. It was almost midnight, but he worked late.

I didn't pay attention to the beginning of the conversation on the phone he was having, but I got a small part;

"He is the contractor okay? I can't lose this job." He paused. "I.. I understand. Let's talk about this in the morning, okay? Alright goodnight." He hung up, then walked to the lamp next to the couch. He flicked it on and Sarah stirred. I shielded my eyes from the bright light.

"Hi, Rose." He said to me. "Sorry to wake you up."

I shrugged and my eyes sluggishly adjusted to the light. I propped myself up on one elbow, and Joel nudged Sarah.

"Hey." She stated, and he said, "Scoot."

I sat up, pulling my sleeping bag around my shoulders.

"Fun day at work huh?" Sarah asked sarcastically. Joel rubbed his bearded face, looking very tired. He sighed abruptly and asked us both,

"What're you two still doin' up? It's late."

Sarah processed this for a moment, then almost exclaimed, "Oh crud! What time is it?" She jumped up and looked at the wall clock behind her. It read ten to midnight. It takes me a moment to realize what she was so freaked about. I had almost forgotten today was Joel's birthday. She was going to give him a new watch, since the one he had is broken. She used to tell me how he would swear under his breath when he looked at the watch to check the time, but it would be broken.

"It's way past your bedtime." Joel muttered, seemingly annoyed. I decided that he wasn't really annoyed with us, it was just how late it was and his job.

"But it's still today." Sarah pointed out cheerfully. She rolled off the couch and plucked the small gift from under the couch. I sat on the edge of the coffee table and watched.

"Guys, please. Not right now. I do _not_ have the energy for this." Joel sighed, resting his face in his right hand.

"Here." Sarah said, holding out a white box. Joel's new watch.

He asked, "What's this?" taking the box.

"Your birthday." Sarah said. She looked at me and smiled. She knew he'd be excited about it. I knew she was.

Joel opened the box a smidge, and by this point, Sarah and I were gathered around him. He paused, mouth hung open an inch.

"You kept complaining about your broken watch..." Sarah told him, "So I figured, you know." He set the box down next to him and put the watch on.

"You like it?" Sarah asked him, grinning.

"Guys..this is.." Joel stammered, examining the small clock on his wrist.

"What?" Sarah and I asked in unison.

"It's nice but I..." he tapped the glass and held it to his ear, "I think it's stuck, It's not -" Both of our eyes went wide. It's a brand new watch and it's already broken? Can't be.

"What?" Sarah asked worriedly, snatching Joel's wrist and looking at the watch. I leaned forward to see any apparent damage. "No no no no." She paused and saw that the watch was indeed not broken.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Oh ha ha." She laid back down, feet facing her dad. I also laid back down. I was still tired.

We sat in silence for a moment before Joel asked, "Where did you get the money for this?"

"Drugs." Sarah replied without hesitation. "We sell hardcore drugs."

All three of us started to laugh. Joel spoke up and said, "Oh good, you can start helping out with the mortgage then." He reached forward and grabbed the remote from the coffee table. He flicked the tv back on and saw the main title screen of Dawn of the Wolf. He shook his head and chuckled quietly. I was already drifting off to sleep.

"Tsk. Yeah you wish." Sarah giggled, closing her eyes. Joel changed the channel to a late night sports game. Soon after that I drifted off.

I was awoken by a distant boom. Car alarms erupted into action. I sat up straight and gasped. What was that? It didn't sound like thunder. And thunder doesn't set off car alarms. Another boom. I jumped.

I stood up slowly and looked at the couch. No Sarah or Joel. All the lights were out in the house.

"Sarah? Joel?" I called out softly.

I heard a distant call back from upstairs, "Rose?" It's Sarah.

I raced up the stairs and turned to Joel's room. The door was slightly ajar. Sarah was looking out the window on the far side of the room. I watched as a dark plume of smoke rose above the line of trees. The smoke was outlined by the bright lights of the city behind it. Joel's TV was playing static.

"Did you see my dad?" Sarah asked worriedly.

"No, I didn't." I replied, swallowing hard. I was scared, and so was she. I joined her at the window. "We gotta go find your dad." I stated.

She nodded and we left his room. We comforted each other on the way downstairs. When we reached the bottom of the staircase, a patrol of police cars blared past the house. We both jumped. Walking through the dark house, we made it over to the kitchen. A vibration rang out against the almost silence. A dog was barking somewhere in the distance.

"There's his phone." Sarah said, walking to the device. She picked it up and read the notifications on it.

"Eight missed calls? Where the hell are you? Call me? On my way?" She sounded more and more worried with each one she read.

"Are those from Uncle Tommy?" I asked, and she turned around and nodded. She set the phone down and we headed towards Joel's office. Her uncle Tommy had been so close to the both of us he was practically my family too. Sarah pushed the glass doors open, which were already slightly open.

A few moments later, Joel rushed in the open back slider door. He was panting hard, and he slammed the door shut.

"There you are." Sarah said, almost accusingly.

"Sarah? Rose?" Joel said worriedly, "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah." Sarah stated.

"Mhmm." I replied. Joel started to rummage through a few drawers on an illuminated desk. He pulled a case of some sort out of a drawer and set it on the desk. He started to open it, then asked in a panicky way, "Has anyone come in here?"

"No. Who would come in here?" I asked cautiously.

Joel ignored her question and said, "Don't go near the doors. Just... Just stand back there with Rose."

Sarah said, "Dad, you're kinda freaking me out. What's going on?"

Joel replied, "It's the Coopers.. There's something wrong with them. I... I think they're sick."

"What kind of sick?" Sarah asked. She was interrupted by a body flinging itself against the back door. The glass was splattered with blood. Sarah and I jumped at the same time. I looked at the blood drips all over the glass. My heart thumped in my chest. What the?

"Dad?" Sarah asked, her voice going up an octave in fear.

"Girls, get behind me." He ordered. He seemed a lot more frightened than he pretended to be. The thing on the other side of the glass groaned a few times, heaving itself against the door. The glass finally gave in after a few heavy shoves. Glass shards scattered across the carpet in a glimmering mess. Jimmy... their neighbor... he wasn't really a person anymore. He tumbled across the floor, his footing lost.

"Jimmy, just stay back." Joel ordered, but the sick man didn't listen. He let out a wail and flung himself at us. I screamed. A shot rang out, and I realized that Joel had his revolver. Sarah gave a little cry of distress. She hugged me, and we held each other.

"Everything's gonna be okay." I said, and she nodded, though tears were streaming down her cheeks. I realized I was crying too. I had the distant feeling everything _wouldn't_ be okay, but I said nothing.

Joel urged us out of the office. He rested a hand on both of our shoulders, the one holding the gun was on mine.

Sarah stammered, "You... you shot him..."

I muttered, "We could've helped him."

Sarah ignored both of us, and continued on, "I saw him this morning..."

"Listen to me, girls. There is something bad going on. And you've got to get out of here. Do you understand me?" Joel's eyes flitted between us both. I nodded, my vision blurring. What about my mom? My brother? I was worried about them. What if they're sick too? That made my gut wrench.

Sarah replied with a dull 'yeah' and we heard a car pull up. Headlights flooded the living room, and Joel said, "Tommy. C'mon." He started to pull Sarah towards the door. I followed in hot pursuit. Joel flung the door open, not bothering closing the door.

"Where the hell you been? You have any idea what's goin on out there?" Tommy demanded. He rounded the front of the truck to come by us. He ruffled my hair quick, noticing who I was.

Joel replied, "I've got some notion."

"Holy shit. You've got blood all over you." Tommy realized. Joel ushered us into the backseat of the car. Then he got in the front himself. Tommy went back around to get into the driver's seat. He and his brother exchanged a few words before pulling out of the driveway.

Tommy said back to us, "Hey girls, how you holdin' up?"

Sarah replied distantly, "I'm fine." I nodded in agreement. Tommy turned his attention to the road and began driving. Sarah and I didn't bother with seatbelts, so we had free roam of the backseat.

Sarah asked, "Can we hear what's on the radio?"

Tommy replied, "Yeah, sure thing." He switched on the radio, except all that played was static. He scoffed and turned it off, "No cellphone, no radio. Yeah... we're doing great. Minute ago, newsman wouldn't shut up."

"They say where to go?" Joel asked.

Tommy answered with a sigh, "They said ah... Army's puttin' up roadblocks on the highway. No gettin' into Travis County."

"That means we need to get the hell out." Joel stated matter of factly, "Take 71."

"71. That's where I'm headed."

A police car zoomed past, a lot faster than the speed limit. Another one followed.

Once the coast was clear, Tommy turned right. Sarah asked, "Did they say how many are dead?"

"Probably a lot." Tommy replied, "Found this one family all mangled inside their house..."

"Tommy." Joel warned.

Tommy glanced at him, then acknowledged what his meaning was. "Right." he said. "Sorry."

I watched out the window on my side, watching the dark landscape roll by. I still worried about my family. They could be anywhere.. At home... or... out _there_. After a few moments of silence, Joel said, "Jesus Christ, how did this happen?" Sarah and I gathered toward the middle of the seat, looking between the two men. A car had run into a telephone pole, and sparks were flying out in all directions randomly.

"They got no clue." Tommy replied sullenly. "But we ain't the only town. At first it was just the South. Now they're going on about the East Coast, the West Coast..." He trailed off when he spotted something around a bend.

"Holy hell." He stated, "That's Louis' farm. I hope that son of a bitch made it out." I leaned against the glass of the window and peered at the burning farm house. I hoped he was alright too. I didn't know the man, but I don't think anyone deserves to burn alive. I got away from the glass once the house was out of sight.

Joel reassured his brother, "I'm sure he did."

A few moments later, Sarah glanced at me then asked no one in particular, "Are we sick?"

Joel responded immediately, "No. No of course not."

"How do you know?" She asked. I was just watching out of my window. I tried to distract myself from the bad things that were going on.

"They said it's just ah... people in the city. We're good." Tommy spoke up.

"Jimmy worked in the city." Sarah insisted, biting her lip nervously. I turned to her and patted her shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay. Don't worry." I assured. She nodded, but the worry in her eyes was overwhelming. I knew she wasn't agreeing with me completely. I don't even think I was right.

Joel said a little sadly, "That's right, he did. We're fine. Trust me."

Soon, we came upon a group of figures walking on the side of the road. For a moment I expected more sick people, but it turned out it was just a family walking. Tommy slowed the car down and Sarah scooted closer to me. She whispered to me, "Are they sick?"

I shook my head and said, "No, I don't think so." If they were sick, they'd probably be wandering around aimlessly. Or not following the road at least.

Joel asked his brother harshly, "What the hell do you think you're doin'? Keep drivin'."

"They got a kid, Joel." Tommy protested.

"So do we. We have _two_." Joel declared a little angrily.

Sarah insisted innocently, "But we have room."

I think it would be nice if we could help some other people. Who knows how many people are actually left?

"Keep driving, Tommy." Joel demanded. The man outside was yelling at us and waving his arms.

"Stop!" he shrieked, "Stop!" We just drove past. I wanted to say something about it, but I didn't.

Joel said to his brother, "You ain't seen what I seen. Someone else will come along."

We continued along the road, and soon the city came into view in the distance. The curved bridge stood out against the night sky. An ambulance blared past us, and Sarah whispered something about helping the people back there. We came down a hill and around another bend, then the next sight terrified me. Tommy came to a full stop, and we were behind almost parked cars. I looked over the hill and saw rows and rows of cars. They stretched across the bridge and as far as I could see.

"Oh, this is bad." Joel stated.

"Everyone and their mother had the same damn idea." Tommy growled. A helicopter flew over our car and over the many others. It looked like a police or hospital craft to me, but I couldn't tell.

"We could just backtrack and -" Joel started, but he was interrupted by a man in front of us. He had gotten out of his car and was waving his arms at someone in front of him. He was frustrated with the traffic most likely.

He yelled, "Hey, what the fuck man? Let's go!" Suddenly, he was slammed into his car by a figure in a hospital gown. The hospital gown person was... sick. Another appeared and the two started to rip at the angry man they'd attacked. I froze in horror. What...

"Turn us around!" Joel ordered Tommy. Tommy set the car in reverse, and thank god no one was behind us. He whipped the vehicle around so fast, that anyone that would've been behind us would've gotten smashed all to hell. Before he could turn the car in a different direction, a sick person noticed us. He sprinted full on toward us, and he was coming right for me. Even though there was a window between us, I remembered what happened back at Joel's house. He smashed into the glass, splattering blood across the glass. I leaped backwards, hitting Sarah in the process. Tommy pulled away from the scene as fast as he could and took a back road.

"What the fuck just happened?" Tommy almost yelled. "Did you see that?" Sarah whined and buried her face in my shoulder.

"Yes I saw it," Joel said, then pointed to the left, "Turn here, turn here."

We came upon a dead end, or so it would seem. There were people everywhere, running in our direction. They weren't sick, and they were running from something. They filed around the car hurriedly, avoiding us. A few hands would hit the car occasionally. I watched them as they passed, trying to see if they were sick. No one had blood on them, thank god. I patted Sarah's hand and tried once again to comfort her.

"Come on people, move!" Tommy said.

There was finally a break in the flow of people, and Tommy squeezed through the small gap. We drove maybe five feet before I spotted lights to the left through the window. A pair of lights sped toward us. I had no time to react before glass shattered in my face and we were careening sideways.

I could hear the sounds of feet rushing by. A distant fire, crackling loudly and debris falling. Shouts too, a man's voice. Something was grabbing at my arm. It kind of tickled. But then it was sharp pain, a force was pulling at my arm. My eyes snapped open. I could see Tommy's face through blurry eyes. I blinked a few times, trying to clear them. My head hurt, and I could feel something wet on my right cheek. I was on my side in the car, and it was also on its side. I hissed in pain as he kept pulling.

"Stop!" I said through gritted teeth. He noticed I was awake and stopped pulling.

My seatbelt isn't on, since I never put it on in the first place. My legs were still above my head in an awkward way. I slithered out of the car, moving over broken glass. Tommy's eyes were clouded with worry.

"Don't worry about me." I said, pulling my whole body out of the car. I saw Joel, holding Sarah in his arms.

"What happened?" I asked quietly, touching my cheek. My hand came away bloody and I understand the worried looks I'd been receiving.

"She broke her leg, I think. " Joel said.

"We're gonna need to run." Tommy said, eyes darting around at the people running and screaming.

Joel nodded curtly and pulled a pistol with one hand from his pants. "Keep us safe." He told his brother, and the four of us headed off into the night.

I stayed behind Joel, watching closely all around us. People were scattered everywhere, running wildly in the same direction as us. We passed by a theatre, and someone lunged at another. They brought them down to the ground and I watched as it tore into the man's neck.

Tommy dragged me along. "Come on!" He said, hurrying after Joel.

A car drove in on our right, from the intersection. It was out of control and going fast. It plowed over two people before slamming into a gas station pump on the other side of the street. The entire building and car went up in a ball of flames. It was as if a miniature sun appeared. A telephone pole toppled over, bringing powerlines down with it.

"Keep running!" Tommy yelled.

We turned the way the car came from and a building was up in flames. I was close enough to Joel to hear Sarah say, "Those people are on fire." And so they were. They were screaming in agony and waving their arms in pinwheels.

"Don't look, girls." Joel warned, trying to move faster past everything.

Once we reached another intersection, more people flooded out of another street. Two cars screeched past and slammed into each other. It was chaos. Screaming people everywhere. Dying people everywhere.

"We're gonna get outta this." Joel reassured us. I kept very close to him and Sarah. Tommy was ten feet ahead, brandishing the pistol Joel lent him.

We cut through an alley way when maybe twenty of those... things came out of no where and rushed at us and the rest of the people. We sprinted through a small courtyard, which I later recall being an outdoor eating area, to the inside of a restaurant. Tommy held back a door backed by screaming sick people.

"Get to the highway!" He yelled at us, struggling with the door.

Joel stammered, "What?"

"Go! You got the girls!" He spat, waving with his gun arm, "I can outrun 'em!"

"Uncle Tommy!" I yelled, reaching forward. He shook his head and told me he'd find us again.

"I will meet you there." Joel said matter-of-factly.

"Hurry!"

"Daddy, we can't leave him!" Sarah cried.

He didn't answer as we burst through the front door of the restaurant. A man was tackled by a sick person right outside the door. Joel shifted Sarah in his arms and ran across the small road. There was a pathway on the other side, with tall rocks on either side. The highway was located up on top of the bridge, which was looming in the distance.

I looked behind us, and quickened my pace when I saw how many insane people were coming after us. They shrieked and hollered, and their steps were more like stumbles. But oh boy were they fast.

A helicopter passed over us, blades whirring. What's going on?

Machine gun fire broke the near silence. The infected people behind us collapsed to the ground in a spray of bullets. A light was shone into our faces, and I stood behind Joel to shield my eyes.

"It's okay, guys. We're safe." Joel said quietly to us. The light was out of my eyes, and I could see our rescuer. It was a soldier, fully clad in body armor. He had a huge gun, and it was trained on us.

"Hey! We need help." Joel called.

"Stop!" He yelled back.

"Please, It's my daughter. I think her leg is broken."

"Stop right there!" The soldier screamed, voice muffled by his gas mask. I stayed behind Joel, clutching the back of his shirt.

Joel realized why the man was so offensive. "We.. we're not sick." He said worriedly, backing away a little. I stayed in step with him.

"Got a couple of civilians in the outer perimeter." The man spoke softly, and I peeked out from behind Joel. He was talking into a handheld radio. "Please advise."

Sarah asked, "Daddy, what about Uncle Tommy?"

"We're gonna get you to safety and go back for him. Okay?" Joel asked, looking at her, then back at the soldier. He was wary, I could tell. Still, I stayed behind him, not wanting to be too obvious to the soldier.

The soldier spoke again, but not to us. "Sir. There's two little girls." Pause. "But...Yes, sir."

"Listen buddy, we've just been through hell." Joel said, voice breaking a little. "Okay, we just need - "

The gun's barrel raised, aimed at Joel's middle. And Sarah. I tensed up behind Joel, bracing for my death. For all of ours.

"Oh, shit."

Gunshots blared, and all three of us went tumbling back down the small hill we came up. I got a faceful of dirt and a few scrapes, but I checked for any bullet wounds and found none. Joel groaned to my left. Sarah was down by my feet.

The soldier rushed to Joel and aimed his rifle at his face. Joel raised a hand and said, "Please don't."

A fountain of blood erupted from the gunner's head. The man responsible was none other than Tommy.

"Oh, no..." Tommy said, eyes going past Joel. I followed his gaze, and my eyes fell on Sarah. She caught the bullets we were all meant to have.

She was whimpering. Joel scrambled over to her, and I did the same. She was clutching her stomach, blood leaking over her hands and through her shirt. She was laying on her back, feet splayed out.

Joel's voice was breaking now. "Okay. Move your hands, baby." He said soothingly, holding back tears. I couldn't move. I had a hand on her shoulder but I couldn't say anything. All I could see was the blood. She reached up and touched Joel's face, loudly whimpering. She was crying, but only faint sounds escaped her lips.

"I know, baby. I know..." Joel said quietly.

He applied pressure to her wound, though we all knew it was too late. She was losing too much blood.

"Listen to me. I know this hurts, baby." He said, trying to calm her down. His voice was getting panicky, "You're gonna be okay, baby. Stay with me."

She cried out in pain when Joel tried to pick her up one handedly. My hand fell from her shoulder and onto the dirt. I wasn't even paying attention. Blood.

Blood everywhere.

"I know baby, I know it hurts."

"Come on, baby. Please."

She cried out a little more, then she was quiet.

"Sarah..." Joel said, crying now. Tears traced tracks through the grime on his face, "Baby... Don't do this to me, baby. Don't do this to me, baby girl. Come on..."

He bent over her small body, body rocking with sobs. I couldn't feel anything. I wanted to cry, but I didn't even know the level I was sad on. He hugged her small from, crying and repeating the word no over and over.

I said nothing. My best and only friend was dead.


End file.
